The McMansion Penalty in ENERGY STAR Version 3
When I first became a HERS rater and went to the RESNET conference in 2004, I got to talk with David Lee, who was the head of the ENERGY STAR homes program at the time. Because I was puzzled by…
The Energy Vanguard Blog
RESNET Enters into Strategic Alliance with Int’l Jugglers Association
RESNET, the Residential Energy Services Network, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IJA, the International Jugglers Association. The goal of the MOU with IJA is to promote the creation of new requirements, certifications, equipment sales, and training…
How I Use Twitter – A Social Media How-To for Home Energy Pros
Back in January, I wrote about blogging and its effect on our organic search traffic. I showed a graph in that article of our organic search traffic from March 2010, when I started blogging, through December. Here's the updated graph…
Happy 50th Birthday, Allison Bailes III, You’re Younger Than Dirt!
I tried to think of something clever to write today for Allison’s 50th birthday, but let’s face it I’d only embarass us both. The reason; I can't be as clever as Allison is. Period. I mean, the man wrote his own…
3 Problems with Fiberglass Batt Insulation in Floors
I've been in a lot of crawl spaces and basements that have floors insulated with fiberglass batts. I've seen a lot of new homes that have fiberglass batts installed in bonus room floors, cantilevers, and floors over basements or crawl…
Common Sense – The Best Green Building Skill in the World
Yesterday, I visited a house in South Carolina and took the photo you see to the left. Notice anything peculiar about the framing here? If not, I'll tell you the answer below, but let me say here that one feature…
Should Nuclear Energy Be in the Mix of Preferred Energy Sources?
Nuclear energy is like religion or politics. Almost no one, it seems, can separate their biases and emotional attachments from an objective assessment of the worth of this energy source. And yes, I count myself among the non-objective. Nuclear energy…
Google SketchUp for Home Energy Raters – Measurements Made Easy
Hey, HERS raters, what if I told you that you could get the volume of a multi-pitched roof for all of your home energy ratings without the need to calculate a single algebraic formula? Or, how about wall area? I know, I'm…
Finding Balance – Heat Pump Heating Load vs. Capacity
In my quest to educate the world on building science topics, I find that I often have to go back to basics. Whether it's the basic nature of heat, why we're using the wrong quantity to characterize infiltration rates, or…
Meeting ENERGY STAR’s Water Management Checklist
On Monday, I wrote about the new Concept Home Program offered through ENERGY STAR for Homes. I learned about it at the 2011 RESNET Building Performance Conference last week. On Monday, I wrote about the new Concept Home Program offered…